Smithson, James

He was the illegitimate son of Hugh Percy (Smithson) , 1st Duke of Northumberland and Elizabeth Hanjford Kate Mesy, was born in France, while the exact date of his birth is unknown. Educated at Pembroke College, Oxford, graduating in 1786; in his youth he was known by the name of James (or Jacques) Lewis (or Louis) Macy - he took the name of James Smithson in about 1800. During his studies, he focused on chemistry and mineralogy, in the publication Annals of Philosophy and Phil. Trans ”has published a number of articles, including on calamites. The name "smitsonite" was originally given in his honor to zinc carbonate Bydan , but then it began to be applied to silicate and almost went out of use by the beginning of the 20th century. In 1784 he accompanied Barthelemy de Saint-Fonds on his expedition to the British Isles, and in the English translation of the latter's work, “Travels in England, Scotland and the Hebrides” (1799), refers to Smithson as “M. de Mesi from London. ” April 26, 1787 was elected a member of the Royal Society of London . According to his will, more than £ 100,000 was transferred to the Government of the United States of America to establish the Smithsonian Institution. This institution was ultimately founded by Congress Act of August 10, 1846.

• This article (section) contains text taken (translated) from the eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica , which went into the public domain .